Various surgical procedures require the use of both hands; i.e., the dominant hand for incising or suturing, and the non-dominant hand for retracting tissue to provide physical or visual access. The use of the non-dominant hand in close proximity to sharp surgical instruments such as needles and scalpels presents the danger of injury to the hand. Cuts and punctures not only pose a danger in and of themselves, but present the often more serious risk of infection, including infection with HIV.
The risk of injury to the surgeon's non-dominant hand is notably present during wound closure, particularly when the non-dominant hand is used to elevate the fascia of the abdominal wall during the placement of sutures. This danger is increased by the fact it is often necessary to exert considerable force to elevate the facia, while at the same time inserting a needle from the opposite side of the fascia toward the underlying non-dominant hand.